NEED MORE PRIDE

MAUI BEACHES LITTERED WITH CIGARETTE BUTTS

I was in West Maui in May and June and could not believe the cigarette butts in the sand and grass at the beaches.

The whole area had so many cigarette butts on the ground, you could feel them when you walked. For such a great state I am surprised residents don't have more pride.

GILLNETS

HAWAI'I MUST STOP WASTEFUL PRACTICE

Florida, Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and California all have bans on lay gillnets. Our state must join them in stopping this wasteful fishing practice.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources has been doing nothing since 1998 when this problem was brought up. This ban is pro-fishing not anti-fishing. Throw nets will still be allowed, but currently there are few fish to catch with this method because of overfishing.

Unregulated spear-gun fishing is huge in the Islands and is also putting pressure on fish stock on top of the wasteful lay gillnet problem. There should be a ban on aquarium fishing and enforced bag and size limits on legal fishing. We must stop robbing the ocean without giving fish a chance to grow to a decent size and reproduce.

Gov. Lingle, approve a complete lay gillnet ban today! Sustainable fishing practices must become law and be enforced!

WIND FARM

LOW ON APPEARANCE, HIGH ON COST SAVINGS

Brian Cole's letter (July 19) praises Maui residents for allowing a wind farm to be built on the side of the West Maui mountains.

As a resident for 10 years, I'd like to take credit for that noble decision. However, I had no idea the white towers were under consideration. As one who reads all three island papers daily, I can't recall news that the project was under discussion.

They do deface West Maui's landscape, but as barrels of oil are costing $75 apiece and gas at the pump approaches $4 a gallon, the windmills are looking better each day.

HOMELESS

CATALUNA CONVEYS STEREOTYPED VIEW

It's very clear that Lee Cataluna (July 18) has a stereotyped view of the homeless and criticizes any of them for speaking out and expressing their needs.

She would prefer they keep silent rather than express their desire for basic needs in life most of us take for granted.

Hey, Lee, how do you spell "oppression?"

KUKUI GARDENS

DON'T JUDGE THE WHOLE BASED ON ONE FANCY CAR

With all due respect to Dave Johanssen, I found his letter (July 18) way off base. I grew up in the Kukui Gardens area and still live nearby. I had many childhood friends who lived there as well, and I drive past it on the way to work every day.

I can tell you that the vast majority of tenants are "needy" and do not bring in tons of money. I have seen some decent cars there, never an Escalade, but there are many "clunkers" as well. The apartments are basic and by no means luxury. Please don't judge the whole by one parked car because it happens to be nicer than what you currently drive.

HAWAIIANS

SEPARATE GOVERNMENT SEEMS UNWARRANTED

Now that the Akaka bill has suffered a setback, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a state agency, intends to act as a substitute for creating a separate government for all of those with a trace of indigenous Hawaiian ancestry.

Is it reasonable for a state agency to create a new, separate government that will compete for state resources, thus diluting the economic welfare of the state? What happened to the concept of strength in unity? Is it reasonable to engage the so-called indigenous 20 percent of the population into a separate government in the same land area with no consideration as to how public services will be shared and administered between the two governments? Is it reasonable for a neighbor or a spouse to become a member of a separate government just because that person has a trace of native ancestry?

I think it is without question that most citizens of Hawai'i support the concept of state and federal programs to assist Hawaiians of primarily indigenous ancestry. And there should be a vehicle to assure these programs. But OHA's plan to create a separate government for an entire segment of the population of which 90 percent are reported to have less than 10 percent native Hawaiian ancestry seems unnecessary and unwarranted.

150 YEARS

RICHARD KAUHI WAS A TALENTED ENTERTAINER

Your 150th anniversary edition was a wonderful educational experience. However, the section on entertainment omitted one very talented and popular entertainer — Richard Kauhi. He brought Hawaiian music into the 20th century. He started playing the piano with the Kalima Brothers from the age of 15 to the age of 18, at which time he formed the Richard Kauhi Quartet in 1947. He taught them to sing in a very close harmony.

To this day no one has been able to emulate his style. It was said that he was 20 years ahead of his time. His music was not accepted by some of his peers and he had to take a lot of criticism from them. They said he was jazzing up Hawaiian music. His response was that he was only embellishing the beauty of Hawaiian music. He loved Hawaiian music and continued playing it from his heart, the way he wanted to until he died at the age of 49 in 1979.

He received the Hawai'i Aloha Award (equivalent of today's Hoku Award). The House of Representatives honored him for 35 years of his contributions to Hawaiian Music. Lastly, the Hoku Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2000.

FORMER GOVERNOR

BURNS AN INSPIRATION TO ANOTHER JOHN BURNS

When I moved to Hawai'i nine years ago, I had no idea that my name (the same as Gov. John A. Burns of Hawai'i in the 1960s) would draw so much attention.

It has been interesting over the years that the mention of my name would spark such positive and vivid memories in hundreds of people. They always react in the same way such as: "Oh, are you related to the governor;" or "We used to have a governor named..." Anytime I asked what they thought of him, they each responded that he was the best and most admired governor in Hawai'i's history. Nobody ever replied with anything negative.

Everyone knew that his leadership was meant for the betterment of everyone in Hawai'i. As a result, he had everyone's support.

Gov. Burns, my hat is off to you! Your amazing spirit lives in the minds of everyone who remembers you, and will continue to live in present and future generations who will aspire to follow your example!

SHIPPING

REPEAL OF JONES ACT WOULD HELP HAWAI'I

Harry Boranian's memory of how goods were shipped and troops were moved some 64 years ago in his defense of the Jones Act (July 14) is an interesting bit of history.

But it sounds as if he's saying Dan Akaka believes we need to keep the Jones Act in case we have to fight World War II again. The reality is more likely the financial support Sen. Akaka has received over the years from big business (Alexander & Baldwin, which owns Matson) and big labor (the ILWU) is the reason.

On the other hand, the senator has no problem setting aside the Jones Act to allow an exemption for Norwegian Cruise Line to benefit the tourist industry.

Why not benefit all of Hawai'i, as Ed Case would do, by repealing the Jones Act to end Matson's near monopoly and bring lower shipping costs — and possibly lower prices — to the Islands?

ENERGY

HECO SHOULD PURSUE WAVE TECHNOLOGY

It was refreshing to read the wind farm report in Tuesday's Advertiser, but ironic to see oil companies involved in this business.

Hawai'i should be a world leader in wave technology, but the timid involvement of Hawaiian Electric Co. is a disgrace.

HECO's officials should have more guts and make it a priority. They should trade their oil golf partners and try the Scottish golf courses, where wave power is a priority. They could talk story and find out how come they already have something going in Islay and in Portugal.

My concern is that one day we are going to see a tanker spill 200,000 tons of crude oil on our beaches and then we will decide to purchase wave farms.

WAIAHOLE DITCH

WATER COMMISSION RULING DID ANSWER COURT

Contrary to your editorial, "Commission should rethink water budget" (July 18), the Water Commission majority opinion responded directly to the court's directives, while the dissent would have reopened issues long-decided in previous commission decisions, and the court's review of them and would have taken actions without due process safeguards.

The court's inquiry to the commission was: 1) whether the increased stream flows were greater than what the flows were in the 1960s, when the Windward parties' own witnesses had testified that the streams were healthy and viable; and 2) further clarification of the 2.43 mgd that remained unpermitted.

The Waiahole Ditch waters added to the streams resulted in the following flows: 1) Waiahole Stream, 124% greater than the 1960s flow: 2) Waianu Stream, 600% greater; 3) Waikane Stream, 150% greater; and 4) Kahana Stream, 19% greater (Kahana is only marginally affected by the ditch).

As for the 2.43 mgd of unpermitted water, the court had stated that any flows in excess of these instream flow standards shall be placed in the streams until permitted and actually needed for offstream use. This is what the commission has done with the 2.43 mgd, plus any permitted water that is not being used on a day-to-day basis, in order to avoid waste.

The dissent and your editorial continue to label the unpermitted water as an illegal "buffer," even when the court has subsequently acknowledged that the commission never intended to create such a formal and distinct category.

Pu'u Makakilo's allocation is part of the water that is permitted but not being used and therefore currently added to the streams to avoid waste. The dissent would have taken away the permit without due process, while the majority only concluded that the remand from the court was not the proper venue to address the continuing validity of Pu'u Makakilo's permit. The commission is free to address this issue in a separate proceeding.